the forty-fifth president
is in my living room
screaming and waving
his hands, again
the children want sweets and hugs
and kisses and promises
that they’ll survive all
that Forty-Five prescribes
to make America great again
the children are afraid and
often have scary red dreams
that are hard to catch
they ask to stay home
from the outside world
and school today, everyday
i teach the children the Prayer
of Tatanka so that they are
strong enough to face the armies,
and the documents, and the dogs,
and the policies, and the laws and the “treaties”
and the bitter, spitting, piercing words, everyday
two legs are not enough to stand on
we depend on the shoulders of grandfather, the
forgiveness of the maka, and the eagle-hearted
children to keep our Nation safe from coyote men
and tanks, and wingless birds that roar, and bombs
and fire, and thieves, and papers that lie to us
Talena Lachelle Queen, is the founder and president of Her Best Self a nonprofit organization that fosters leadership qualities in young women. She is a certified and licensed elementary school teacher specializing in Middle Level Humanities in both New Jersey and Washington states. T.L. Queen is a Paterson, NJ native who specializes in poetry that infuses music, particularly gospel and jazz.
Her writing addresses social justice issues that impact the Black community– her family. She began her creative writing practice at five years old. Among her alma mater are Rosa Parks School of Fine & Performing Arts High School where she earned her diploma in Creative Writing, Montclair State University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism, University of Washington where earned both her teaching certifications, and her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing & Poetics, and University of Notre Dame where she earned an Executive Certification in Transformational Nonprofit Management at the Mendoza Business School. Her most recent endeavor is her role as CEO of Queen Seminars. T.L. Queen is a martial artist, art lover and a gardener.
